We believe hate speech and action based on bias are wrong and intolerable. Intimidation and violence have no place in our schools, our town, or our nation.

We believe critical thinking, cultural competence, and scientific inquiry are crucial to helping students understand historical context, make complex arguments, find solutions to the world’s problems, and benefit from varied experiences and diverse viewpoints of those who share the planet with us.

We believe social and emotional learning is a powerful key to helping students navigate our increasingly complex, connected, and diverse world.

We ask you to join in our work to...

Name and confront all forms of hate, bigotry, and bullying.

Counter any speech or any action preventing any child or adult from feeling included and safe.

Help our students and staff understand our need to stand up for the rights of all and teach students and staff to stand up against racism and ethnocentrism.

Stand up against anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim actions and speech, as well as speech and actions that are homophobic or anti-LGBTQ.

Protect the rights of immigrants to this country.

Uplift all students in our district, regardless of any differences in ability or whether or not they receive Special Education services.

Introduction

Establishing and maintaining a safe and inclusive environment for ALL members of the AUSD community is a collective responsibility shared by staff, students, and parents/guardians. Our efforts to support all students in reaching their highest academic and personal potential begins with safety and inclusivity. AUSD’s stated vision of preparing students to be responsible citizens must include instruction in how to embrace diversity, stand up to bias, and critically evaluate the events taking place in the local, national, and international communities. We have developed this page to provide teachers, staff, parents, and guardians with resources on talking to students about hate, bias, bigotry, and intolerance.

AUSD staff have developed this page to help educators and parent/guardians learn more about teaching and talking to students about bias, bigotry, and bullying. We will be adding to this page as more resources become available, so please check back often!

Superintendent's Message about Pittsburgh synagogue shootings

Dear Alamedans:

Our thoughts go out to those who have lost their lives and also to those who have lost their friends and family in Pittsburgh’s tragic and unconscionable synagogue shooting this weekend. There is no place in our world for this kind of violence and suffering. We stand with the victims of this atrocity, and we will continue to stand up for the rights of Jewish people to live safely and peacefully in this world, in this nation, and in this community.

AUSD continues to call on all of us to call out and fight anti-Semitism wherever and whenever it is found. Please know we have now made available resources from ADL as have been provided by our Jewish Education Round Table leaders, and we hope our families, staff, and students will review them to join us in our continuing need to understand and fight against this ongoing scourge of anti-Semitism we face in the world.

The resources are to the right.

Sincerely,

Sean McPhetridge

How is AUSD Addressing Bias-Related Incidents?

AUSD takes the current uptick in bias-related incidents in our community and country very seriously and is taking a number of steps to address them. Please see this page for details on AUSD's recent and current work to create safer schools.

Anti-Bias Lesson Plans

AUSD staff have gathered together an initial set of lesson plans for teachers looking for ideas. This page provides overviews, objectives, and suggested activities for talking to students in various grade levels about issues of bias and bigotry.

Additional Resources

There are many, many resources available for educators and families. Please see this page for more helpful links.